Public speaking
Toastmasters is a organisation focusing on practicing and improving public speaking. I have been an active member of the Center Berlin Toastmasters club since January 2024. This has allowed me to take on speaking opportunities, such as speaking at the International School of Stavanger’s Career Day for High Schoolers about my experience as a Product Designer and creating an initiative called Design Toasties to empower Doctolib designers with public speaking.
What I do at Toastmasters
Crafting speeches from scratch based on a prompt from each level’s objective,
Speaking with a time limits of 5-7 minutes.
Speaking in front of an audience of 50+ people.
Practicing functionary roles by strengthening my skills in active listening, awareness of using filler words, improving grammar and being more aware of my timing.
Answering impromptu questions as a speech within 2 minutes on the spot.
Engaging the audience through storytelling, body language & vocal variety.
Certifications
As part of my personal growth, I part take in the Toastmasters Pathway called Presentation Mastery where I need to take on specific speeches to practice different skills whilst presenting infront of a crowd. This pathway consists of a total of 5 levels, with a total of 42 speeches. I am currently in progress with level 3, consisting of 17 speeches to complete.
Through this pathway, I have learned how to write my own speeches, practice staying within a time limit, reducing unnecessary “filler words”, engage an audience through storytelling and lean more into the uncertainty of spontaneous table topic question speeches!
Awards
I have obtained a total of 8 awards during my time at Center Berlin Toastmasters: Best Speaker x4, Best Evaluator x2 and Enthusiasm award x2
Presenting on the International School of Stavanager’s career day, was an opportunity for me to practice the skills I have learned through toastmasters and apply them to a real life setting. This allowed me to talk about choosing a career as a Product Designer, sharing them my experiences through high school, university and finally finding a full time job. My goal was to be authentic in my storytelling and also inspire them to consider this career direction.
